Industrial Solutions for Production

Data glasses can significantly improve productivity and accuracy in industrial manufacturing. They allow people to see real-time data and instructions directly in front of their eyes without having to look at external screens. Both hands can remain free. 

These features often require ultra-high resolution, flexible substrates, sunlight readability, high contrast, gesture and eye control, scratch resistance and others. It is precisely these types of microdisplays that are being developed at Fraunhofer IPMS.

The growing market for wearables also requires special miniaturized solutions with low power consumption. New device functions are in demand here. Innovative input and interaction concepts, such as bidirectional microdisplays (combination of display and imager on one chip), also make it possible to control content via eye movements 

The development of applications for Industry 4.0, Smart Health, Smart Security and Automotive is characterised by the increasing use of intelligent interactive systems. Safe sensory information acquisition and the exchange of information from objects and surfaces in the near-distance and contact range are essential here. Application fields such as sensitive and precise gripping, handling, orientation and positioning of objects in robotics, enhanced human sensory perception (augmented reality, artificial skin) as well as 3D environment sensing (depth-resolved gesture sensing, contactless switches) require a high information density in real time with energy-efficient AI-supported sensor networks.

Optical and capacitive methods available on the market lack spatially continuous and precise detection of the environment as well as a combined tactile mode. Fraunhofer IPMS is pursuing a multimodal sensor concept for ultrasound-based tactile close-range monitoring. The sensor platform developed enables the integration of tactile and proximity sensors on one chip module for the first time, thus offering increased information density. The CMOS-compatible capacitive micromechanical ultrasonic transducers (CMUT) in combination with integrable electronics form the basis for making cost-effective and energy-efficient multimodal sensors in a small installation space with high sensitivity and integrated signal processing available to the market.

Data interfaces between rotating and static components are one of the biggest challenges in data transmission. Slip rings are often used to meet this challenge. Typical examples of the use of such slip rings can be found in wind turbines, helicopters and industrial robots. Contact-based slip rings often reach their limits due to the material, while contactless solutions are either very cost-intensive, susceptible to interference or low in data rate. Li-Fi GigaDock® transceivers can transmit data rates of up to 12.5 Gbit/s contactlessly and in 360 degree rotation and are therefore well suited for use as rotary transceivers. As they transmit data optically, they are also virtually interference and wear-free. 

Our services:

• Optics and transceiver development
• Module integration
• System setup
• Characterisation & test
• Pilot production
• Customer support

Human-robot collaboration requires a high degree of safety and precision for working together in confined spaces. Multisensory approaches offer an extended range of monitoring options for this and at the same time increase reliability through redundancy. Fraunhofer IPMS develops optical and acoustic modules and systems (LiDAR, acoustic camera, ultrasonic proximity sensors, tactile sensors) for the reliable detection of people and objects as well as the detection of textures and force distributions on surfaces in the distance range from a few metres to the point of contact. Compared to previous systems, the miniaturised solutions of the Fraunhofer IPMS offer the integration and combination of sensor modules in compact installation spaces and on surfaces. This enables new applications for gripping, positioning, collision protection and navigation in the domains of service robotics, professional services and machine tending.

Currently, classic connection technologies such as connectors and cable loops are mainly used to connect machines and robots to data communication. In addition to the lack of flexibility of these solutions, the constant mechanical contact leads to signs of wear on the components. Compared to hardwiring, connectors allow connections to be disconnected again - a great advantage for repair, maintenance and modernisation. However, the connectors are often limited in their cycles of operation, and frequent cycles can also lead to altered transmission properties. Li-Fi - i.e. optical data transmission can serve as a contactless connector or also as a cable replacement and transmits high data rates in the gigabit range. The contactless connection technology is almost free of wear and interference and is suitable for use in explosion-proof areas.

Our services:

• Technology consulting
  
• Concept development
• Hardware and module design
• Pilot production

Modern flexible production lines with mobile robots and tools, each production cell and machine connected to the cloud and networked with each other. These are Industry 4.0 or M2M scenarios that require one thing above all: secure and wireless communication. Li-Fi HotSpots use the spectrum of light instead of radio to transmit data. Compared to radio, optical technology is fundamentally safer from electromagnetic interference. It is tap-proof and also has real-time capability in the microsecond range, with data rates of up to 1 Gbit/s. These factors predestine optical communication for industrial use. Li-Fi can be used in areas where even industrial WLAN access points reach their limits.  Local diversity also simplifies network planning, eliminating the need for time-consuming antenna planning and alignment.

Our services:

• Optics and transceiver development
• Module integration
• System setup
• Characterisation & test
• Pilot production
• Customer support

Automated solutions are increasingly being used in intralogistics to ensure permanently available and more flexible flows of goods. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are essentially connected to the higher-level vehicle or route management or other control systems via WiFi or other radio-based transmission technologies. However, many parallel participants in a radio-based network can lead to interference and impair the reliability of the data connections.

With the use of Li-Fi as an optical data transmission technology, stable interference-free data links can be established, thus always ensuring reliable data transmission. With Li-Fi, parallel operation of many vehicles with data links can be realised while maintaining the same bandwidth.

Our services:

• Optics and transceiver development
• Module integration
• System setup
• Characterisation & test
• Production support
• Customer Support

To enable machine vision in three dimensions, a team of researchers at Fraunhofer IPMS is developing a "scanning eye". The institute has been working for years on so-called MEMS scanning mirrors, which are used for the targeted deflection of light for applications in industry, medicine and everyday life. These compact micro-optical components with integrated drives are extremely robust and reliable.

Machine 3D vision with LIDAR

Installed at the end of a robot arm, a scanner mirror can make the robot "aware" at any time of what is happening in its environment, what work steps it has to complete and what the quality of its work is. This scanner module is a kind of eye for the robot, which takes high-resolution images in the three spatial axes. The system directs and detects a laser beam in two dimensions and simultaneously captures the depth as a third dimension by measuring the time of flight of the light between the object and the detector, also known as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Production facilities or vehicles equipped with this scanning technology gain a reliable understanding of their surroundings, paving the way for fully autonomous systems.

Advanced Machine Perception - 4D

As an expansion stage of the system, broadband light sources can be used to obtain spectral information about solid, liquid or gaseous substances. In addition to the time-of-flight measurement, an optical grating on the micromirror is used to control the reflection depending on the wavelength, which enables the spectral analysis of different substances. This system approach is not only used as a safety feature in human-machine interfaces, but can also be used for monitoring the quality of drinking water, quality testing in the field of pharmaceuticals, remote monitoring of production plants or as a leakage test for pipelines. In this way, the developments at Fraunhofer IPMS enable a new way of recording environmental data, so that plants can be operated more safely, processes can be more stable and personal contact with hazardous substances can be avoided.

Advantages of the "scanning eye"

• Non-contact environment analysis
• Ultra-high resolution
• Extremely compact
• Perfect for mobile applications
• Robust, reliable and maintenance-free

In the future, factories will produce individual products even more flexible than today and achieve greater profitability: in a short time, at low cost, with the highest quality. The employees are supported in the best possible way by modern AR assistance systems and integrated into the production and service processes. This enables to improve working conditions and production processes and also opens up completely new business models and services.

The aim of the secure AR joint project is to investigate innovative services in the industrial production environment. For this purpose, a cross-industry and open cloud-based service platform with open industry interfaces is implemented. This service platform collects data along the entire value chain, from planning to production processes to plant maintenance, and enables location- and situation-specific provision and visualization of the data via a new type of AR assistance system.